Dungeness Spit

 Making the best of our time in Port Angeles, Dad offered to hike with us out on the Dungeness Spit. This was a popular place for people to hike. You could be right by the water and the way was pretty much flat. It started out in the woods. We took the long way to get there through a deep forest. The day was comfortably cool, something that we were enjoying. The trail wound through the woods before descending to the beach. The spit was a long section of land that reached out into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It seemed to go on for a long time. Here we could enjoy the sounds of the water with the cool breeze pouring across the sand. There were other people out and about, but given the wideness of the beach, it did not feel crowded. 

The kids enjoyed looking for crabs. There were lots of seabirds around that would fly off as you approached or run scurrying to a separate part of the beach. Mainly we enjoyed the water, the waves, and the views behind us of the Olympic Mountains. There was definitely some time for throwing rocks as there were many around to chuck into the water. We could wander up high to scramble through the driftwood or we could stay down low where the walking was easier. The goal was to make it out to the lighthouse that was at the end. It was a decently long walk being close to 10 miles roundtrip if we made it out there. Popo was up for it, but he also made it clear that it wasn't a motivator for him. For us, it definitely was. 

As we got closer, we knew that we had to make it out there. The terrain shifted from the sandy beach to more grassy as we went farther inland. The kids were troopers and happy to make the trip out to the lighthouse. When we got there, it was very well taken care of. It had beautiful grounds with picnic tables where we could sit down and have lunch. This was a welcome rest as the walk was easy, but long to get out there. The scenery could get pretty repetitive also, so it was nice to have an end goal in mind. We enjoyed a long lunch and then were back on the beach. We continued our trip back. The birds were everywhere constantly making their appearance known. The kids were looking hard for crabs and high quality rocks. 

There were jellies to find lying on the beach. The rocks seemed to be the main goal though as there were all shapes and colors. It is funny how you want something of high quality. I don't know what we would do with the rocks, but it was fun to find them. Soon we were back in the woods finding our way through the trees. The hike was great and we appreciated Popo for taking us there. The kids did great and so did Popo as that is a long walk for both of them. We were really enjoying our time in Port Angeles with lots of places to hike and enjoy while we were in the area for the next month or so.